Device for sucking liquid, air and solid particles



1966 s. G. ERIKSSON 3,289,591

DEVICE FOR SUCKING LIQUID, AIR AND SOLID PARTICLES Filed Feb. 10, 1964 INVENTOR SVE/V GUSTAFERIKSS'ON United States Patent M 3,289,591 DEVICE FOR SUCKING LIQUID, AIR AND SOLID PARTICLES Sven Gustaf Eriksson, 15 Sveavagen, Djursholm, Sweden Filed Feb. 10, 1964, Ser. No. 343,794 Claims priority, application Sweden, Feb. 12, 1963, 1,532/ 63 2 Claims. (Cl. 103-25) This invention relates to a device for sucking liquid, air and solid particles and is particularly adapted for use in connection with surgical operations and dentist work for removing blood, saliva, bone splinters, metal particles, bore dust and air by sucking, but may also be applied to an application field of such a different type as the dosing and/or mixing of two or more substances, preferably liquids.

In previously known devices used for the first-mentioned object the pump proper was constructed only for the suction of air, so that it was necessary to arrange before the pump a collecting vessel for liquid and, possibly, solid particles. In the event of too large a liquid supply exceeding the volume of the said vessel, the pump was liable to be damaged. As two disadvantages in connection therewith can be mentioned: Firstly, the collecting vessel had to be emptied at short intervals and, secondly, the suction of larger liquid amounts for flushing the entire suction system had to be avoided. There was, moreover, in many cases no possibility for cleaning the air which was blown out.

It is the object of this invention to eliminate the afore said disadvantages, which is achieved by arranging in a rotary pump of any type an inlet for the supply of liquid, for example water, in the rotating direction of the rotor after the outlet of the pump but before the inlet thereof.

For this purpose preferably a pump known by its use for other purposes is employed, said pump comprising a rotor of elastic material with radial flanges, which rotor is mounted concentrically in a cylindrical pump housing which in the rotating direction of the rotor after the outlet but before the inlet is provided with an insert adapted to effect inward deflection of the flanges and thereby sucking action. Pumps of this type, however, operate normally only when liquid is supplied and were heretofore used substantially only in such cases where there was always liquid in the material pumped. When such pumps are operated dry, the increase in friction will result in a rapid wear of the rotor disks. Thanks to the liquid supply, however, which is rendered possible by the invention through the arrangement of an additional inlet, an effective and continuous lubrication is obtained, and at the same time both the rotor and the pump housing are always maintained clean, which is of special importance with respect to the sucking of blood and the like which, as mentioned above, is the primary object of the construction according to the invention. By the said liquid supply, even the pump effect is increased still more.

Due to the fact that the rotor of the pump is made of elastic material and has, thus, a rugged construction, and as, furthermore, the pump is continuously lubricated and cleaned, the vessel which otherwise must be provided in front of the pump for collecting the material sucked, can be abandoned without risk. It makes, thus, no difference when even solid particles of bone or metal or the like are sucked through the pump. By forcing the air sucked in to pass a vigorously turbulent liquid, the air is cleaned from dust before it is blown out. The material sucked can then be blown out directly, for example into a discharge line.

What characterizes the invention is, that the additional pump inlet can be connected directly to the water main. In certain countries, however, this is not allowed because 3,289,591 Patented Dec. 6, 1966 lCe of the risk that the water main may be contaminated. By placing the additional inlet after the outlet but before the normal inlet of the pump, a suction is effected which can be increased still more by giving the pump housing a suitable design, rendering it possible to become independent from the water pressure, so that the water can be taken up through an open connection with the water main, for example via a funnel with a spillway or another open container. There will, thus, be no risk of contaminating the water main. As there is no need of a tight connection, even for a portable device the connection to the water main is facilitated. The absence of supply under pressure reduces, furthermore, the risk of leakage.

Instead of from a water main, the liquid may be supplied from the discharge side. of the pump via a shunt line, for example when liquid is pumped which is not contaminated.

As already mentioned, the device according to the invention can also be used for dosing and/ or mixing two or several different substances. For this purpose, an embodiment of the subject matter of the invention is preferably used wherein a rotor with radial flanges mounted concentrically in a cylindrical pump housing cooperates with an insert of such construction, that it comprises two or more inwardly cylindrical sector sur faces with different radii and with one or several inlets arranged in said sectors. Due to the difference in radius, an accurately defined suction in these inlets is obtained, so that through each inlet a definite amount of liquid is sucked in. One of these inlets may be the normal inlet of the pump. When the pump is operated at a relatively high number of revolutions, for example 1400 rpm, in addition to an accurate dosing also a strong mixing of the liquids sucked in is effected. The amount of the material sucked in through the respective inlet can be adjusted, for example, by changing the inside radii of the different sectors, or for a more gradual adjustment by changing the length of the inside radii of the insert, or in the case of an eccentrically disposed rotor by changing the positions of the inlets, for example, by means of tangentially displaceable nozzle cooperating with slotted inlets. The different sectors of the insert must be sufficiently large, so that there is always at least one rotor flange which seals between each inlet.

The invention is described in greater detail in the following With reference to the accompanying drawings showing by way of example two different embodiments of the invention subject matter.

FIG. 1 shows a section through a first embodiment to which via a funnel clean water is supplied from a water mam,

FIG. 2 shows a section through a second embodiment wherein part of the pumped liquid is returned to the pump via a shunt line.

Referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 a pump housing is designated by 1 with a rotor 2 mounted therein. Said roto-r 2 is provided with flanges 3 effecting the sucking action of the pump by pressing slightly against the inner wall housing during a part of a turn of the rotating rotor, which flanges during the remaining part of the turn are subjected to a strong inward deflection by being pressed against an insert 4 in the pump housing, which insert is disposed in the rotating direction of the rotor after the outlet line 5 but before the inlet line 6 of the p n-map. It is apparent that the circumferential spacing of the flanges 3 is less than the spacing of inlet 6 and inlet 8 so the two inlets are never in communication, and, thus, interference of action is avoided. The inlet line 6 of the pump is adapted for connection, for example, to one or several suction nozzles (not shown) which may be arranged at a long distance from the pump.

In the embodiment shown, the insert 4 is of such inward concave design that the smallest distance r be-tween the bearing shaft 7 of the rotor and the insert 4 before the inlet 8 for the supply of liquid is smaller than the corresponding distance R after the said inlet, whereby sucking action through inlet 8 is effected. The surfaces of the insert before and after inlet 8 are preferably made cylindrical, the radii r and R respectively with their center of curvature coinciding with the central shaft of the rotor 2.

The inlet 8 is by a line 9 connected with a funnel or another container 10 which is preferably provided with a spillway. This arrangement renders it possible to supply water without requiring direct connection between the inlet 8 and the water main. The said funnel 10 may, for example, be placed directly below a water cock (not shown).

In order to make sure that there is always liquid supply to the pump, in the embodiment shown a pressure switch 11 is placed between the inlet 8 and the funnel 10, in such a manner, that the switch starts the motor of the pump first when there is adequate water pressure at the same and stops the pump when the water pressure has decreased to a diflierent lower pressure. Thus, the entire system can be started simply by opening the water cock (not shown) and thereby supplying water to funnel 10.

As an alternative, the switch 11 can be arranged such that it is adjusted by the liquid level. Its function will be in principle the same.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 agrees in its essential details with the embodiment according to FIG. 1. The corresponding details in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1, with the addition of an a.

The difference in principle between the two embodiments is, that the funnel-shaped container 10 in FIG. 1 is replaced in FIG. 2 by a container 10a into which the discharge line a of the pump opens, which container is provided with a discharge line 12a. From the container a part of the pumped liquid is returned to the pump via the shunt line 9a and the additional inlet 8a which, thus, correspond to the line 9 and inlet 8 respectively in the first embodiment. In their remaining parts, the two embodiments are in agreement with one another.

The invention is not restricted to the above described embodiments, but the details of the suction arrangement may be varied within the scope of the following claims. For example, pumps of a type different of the type described maybe employed. It is, for example, also possible to use a pump comprising a rotor of elastic material with radial flanges, mounted eccentrically in a cylindrical pump housing. The application field of the pump is neither restricted to what is disclosed above, but the pump may, of course, be adapted for use even in other cases when it is desired to suck liquid, air and solid particles individually, alternately or simultaneously.

What I claim is:

1. A rotary pump comprising a casing having an inlet for primary fluid and an outlet located approximately on opposite sides of its periphery, a rotor located in said casing and having a plurality of elastic vanes extending radially and spaced apart circum'ferentially, an insert in said casing between said outlet and said primary fluid inlet considered in the direction of movement of said vanes, said insert having inner surfaces concentric with the axis of said rotor, and located consecutively in the direction of rotation of said rotor, the first of said inner surfaces being located closer to said axis than the next inner surface, said casing having an opening for a lubricating liquid extending into said casing and through said insert where said first and second inner surfaces are adjacent each other, means supplying said lubricating liquid to said opening whereby when one of said vanes ascends to said second surface it sucks a predetermined volume of said lubricating liquid through said opening to prevent overheating of said elastic vanes, the circumferential spacing of said vanes being less than the circumferential spacing between said inlet for primary fluid and said opening for secondary liquid whereby interference between the action of said inlet and said secondary opening is avoided.

2. A rotary pump according to claim 1, and in which a pressure switch responsive to the pressure of the lubricating liquid being supp-lied for automatically stopping said pump when the volume of lubricant is inadequate.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,804,604 5/1931 Gilbert 103-7 1,833,275 11/1931 Burmeister 103-7 2,522,824 9/1950 Hicks 230-152 2,636,443 5/1953 Rand 103-117 2,765,743 10/ 1956 Hollinshead 103-25 2,816,702 12/1957 Woodcoak 230-207 3,041,979 7/1962 McLean et al. 230-207 3,074,350 1/1963 Hanna 103-117 3,132,847 5/1964 Mercuriali 103-7 MARK NEWMAN, Primary Examiner.

DONLEY J. STOCKING, Examiner.

W. L. FREEH, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A ROTARY PUMP COMPRISING A CASING HAVING AN INLET FOR PRIMARY FLUID AND AN OUTLET LOCATED APPROXIMATELY ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF ITS PERIPHERY, A ROTOR LOCATED IN SAID CASING AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF ELASTIC VANES EXTENDING RADIALLY AND SPACED APART CIRCUMFERENTIALLY, AN INSERT IN SAID CASING BETWEEN SAID OUTLET AND SAID PRIMARY FLUID INLET CONSIDERED IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID VANES, SAID INSERT HAVING INNER SURFACES CONCENTRIC WITH THE AXIS OF SAID ROTOR, AND LOCATED CONSECUTIVELY IN THE DIRECTION OF ROTATION OF SAID ROTOR, THE FIRST OF SAID INNER SURFACES BEING LOCATED CLOSER TO SAID AXIS THAN THE NEXT INNER SURFACE, SAID CASING HAVING AN OPENING FOR A LUBRICATING LIQUID EXTENDING INTO SAID CASING AND THROUGH SAID INSERT WHERE SAID FIRST AND SECOND INNER SURFACES ARE ADJACENT EACH OTHER, MEANS SUPPLYING SAID LUBRICATING LIQUID TO SAID OPENING WHEREBY WHEN ONE OF SAID VANES ASCENDS TO SAID SECOND SURFACE IT SUCKS A PREDETERMINED VOLUME OF SAID LUBRICATING LIQUID THROUGH SAID OPENING TO PREVENT OVERHEATING OF SAID ELASTIC VANES, THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SPACING OF SAID VANES BEING LESS THAN THE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SPACING BETWEEN SAID INLET FOR PRIMARY FLUID AND SAID OPENING FOR SECONDARY LIQUID WHEREBY INTERFERENCE BETWEEN THE ACTION OF SAID INLET AND SAID SECONDARY OPENING IS AVOIDED. 